I'm Saving You from Yourself
by KayAKALilWrestleGrl
Summary: It's time for the annual WWE Pool Party. Stephanie is a snob but she hasn't always been this way. Can Chris save her from herself?


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are owned by Vince McMahon, the WWE, or themselves. No profit is being made from this story.

Stephanie McMahon walked down the hall with a disgusted look on her face. It was time for her father's annual pool party at the McMahon mansion and she wished that she were anywhere else in the world. "I don't understand why I _have_ to be here," she grumbled as she walked outside to the pool.

It never ceased to amaze her how her father always tried to stay close with the wrestlers. While she knew they were the reason her family could afford such nice things, she had gotten to the point in her life where she felt like it was beneath her to be around them. Some called her a snob and they were right; she was the biggest snob in Greenwich, CT and she liked it that way.

She immediately put on her fake smile as she noticed her father watching her. She never liked making him mad because he would usually take away her credit cards when she did. She nodded her head at a few people while walking towards her father.

She couldn't help but notice how happy everybody was. For some odd reason, it seemed to irritate her more than anything. She quickly kissed her father's cheek. "Hello daddy."

"Hello Princess," Vince said with a smile. He looked around noting how much fun his employees were having. He winked at her and said, "This may be our best pool party yet."

Stephanie looked around noting the game of chicken in the pool between Trish and Christian against Stacy and Randy. "Do you think it's safe for them to playing in the pool like that?" She wasn't concerned about the wrestlers; she was more concerned about somebody getting hurt and suing her family for millions.

"Don't worry sweetheart, everything will be fine," Vince said with a smile. He knew how his daughter was and while he didn't particularly care for her somewhat new snobby attitude, she was his daughter and he loved her. She wasn't always like this and he wished that she would be the person that he knew she was deep inside.

"Okay daddy, I'm going to go change into my swimsuit," Stephanie said with a small smile. She pecked him on the cheek again before turning off to walk towards the pool house. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Chris Jericho watching her. She walked right towards him with a smirk on her face. "Okay Jericho, knock it off."

Chris looked at her with a smirk on his face. Getting the Princess riled up was a specialty of his that he took great pride and pleasure in. "Knock what off Princess?"

Stephanie stepped back with an amused look on her face. She knew he liked her. They all liked her and what was not to like? She was intelligent, beautiful, and rich. "Quit looking at me like you are taking my clothes off. I don't like it."

"Now Princess, evidently you have not had that much experience with men," Chris said with a small smile. She made it way too easy for him sometimes. "I wasn't undressing you with my eyes. As a matter of fact, I was just thinking what a stuck up snob you were."

"You know what, you're not even worth arguing with," Stephanie said irritated by his choice of words. "I've got better things to do." She stomped off with a huff not noticing the gleam in Chris's eyes when she did.

She couldn't believe that he had the gall to say that to her. So what if it was true, she wasn't ashamed of it but it bothered her to hear it coming out of somebody else's mouth. She shook her head of her thoughts. What did she care what he thought of her anyway? She stomped into the pool house.

Chris quietly followed Stephanie noting the irritated look on her face. He knew he had gotten to her. He also knew that it was time for her to grow up. Life was too short to miss out on the good stuff and for some reason, he felt the need to save her from herself.

"Damn," he muttered to himself. He had always felt drawn to her but held back. She was a beautiful woman and he couldn't deny that. He knew that at one point and time, she wasn't like this at all. His mind fluttered back in time to the first time he met her.

_Chris Jericho walked into the arena with a small smile. He had waited so long to make it to the big time and he had finally made it. He adjusted the strap on his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He saw a few people that he knew but they were having conversations and he didn't want to interrupt them. It was his first day with the WWE and he wanted to make the best impression that he could._

_He turned and walked down the hallway noticing a very pretty brunette. She turned his way and smiled. The smile dazzled him so much that he was immediately drawn to her like a moth to flame. She held out her hand, "Chris Jericho, welcome to the WWE. I'm Stephanie McMahon."_

"_Hi Stephanie, I take it that you are Vince's daughter," Chris said with a smile._

"_That would be correct," Stephanie said with a twinkle in her eyes. He was very easy on the eyes and his blue eyes just seemed to see right thru her. She cleared her throat and spoke, "Dad wanted me to show you around some."_

"_Great, you lead and I'll follow," Chris said. _

"_How about you just walk beside me?" Stephanie asked with a wink._

"_Sure thing," Chris said with a smile._

_Small talk was all the conversation consisted of but it was a nice friendly banter. She showed him where everything was from catering to the gorilla position. They seemed to be getting along very well. He had a feeling that it was the beginning of something special in his life. _

Chris's mind came crashing back to the present. Something happened to change her. He knew what it was but within a few weeks, he often wondered if he had imagined the first time meeting her. Quickly shaking his head, he walked quietly into the pool house. As he locked the door, he didn't realize that he had locked them inside of the pool house with no way out.

Stephanie quickly finished putting on her suit. She never really cared to go swimming but her father always requested that everybody wear swimwear the annual party. The suit was actually her favorite; a red two-piece that was moderately cut to show a good amount of skin but without looking smutty. Satisfied with her appearance, she turned around to walk out of the bathroom.

The bathroom door opened and Chris was stunned. He had always thought she was beautiful and common sense should have told him that her body would have been the same way. However, he stood there with his mouth slightly open and a stunned look on his face.

Stephanie turned and noticed Chris standing there. She put her hands on her hips wishing she had known he was there. She hated surprises and this one wasn't any different. "What are you doing here? Do you not have any decency?"

"Actually, I have plenty of it," Chris said slowly walking towards her. Stunning couldn't begin to describe the vision of loveliness in front of him. He had to mentally push the thoughts that were running thru his mind at the present time. It was either that or start being embarrassed really fast. "I didn't walk in there while you were _getting_ dressed, did I?"

"No, but that's beside the point. A gentleman would have made his presence known," Stephanie said with an irritated look on her face. There were times when she really wanted to slap the smirk off of his face. This was one of those times.

Chris smirked at her while leaning towards her face. Alarm flashed in her eyes and he couldn't stop himself from grinning at her. So the Princess was a little intimidated by him. He filled that for future reference. "Who ever said I was a gentleman?"

Stephanie looked into those baby blue eyes and felt like she had been drugged. She couldn't move or speak; all she could do was look into those eyes wondering what he was thinking. She couldn't deny his handsome looks if she wanted to, which she desperately wanted to do at that particular moment.

Chris pulled back noting the disappointed look on her face. He almost grinned in satisfaction but stopped himself. It didn't matter that he was attracted to her, he just felt the need to save her from herself. "Tell me something Princess, don't you get lonely sometimes? I mean, you always act like you are better than everybody else is but I've seen you when you thought nobody was looking. You've got a look of longing in your eyes, a desperate need to be accepted yet you push everybody away."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Stephanie said shoving him out of the way. She couldn't believe that he knew that much about her. Everybody else always saw the snob but not him and for some reason it frightened her. She had to get away from him. She walked over to the door and her face immediately showed alarm. "Tell me that you _did not_ lock the damn door."

"Sorry Princess, that would be lying and that's something that I don't do," Chris said with a slight smirk on his face. "Besides, it's not like you can't just unlock it."

"You dumb ass!" Stephanie exclaimed turning around with fire in her eyes. "The door unlocks from the outside."

"Oh really? Well, my bad," Chris said walking over towards her slowly. "Well, since we are going to be here a while, why don't you tell me what's going on in the pretty little head of yours."

"I knew it! I knew you wanted to get me alone and take advantage of me. I'm warning you right now that I will hurt you if you try anything," Stephanie said with anger flashing in her eyes.

"Hold up Princess," Chris said while holding his hands up. "First off, I didn't lock us in here intentionally." At amazed look on Stephanie's face, he continued. "Secondly, I come here once a year. How would I know about the door? I've never even been in the pool house before now. Thirdly, if you would just open your eyes, you would see that I'm trying to help you."

"Help me? Help me from what?" Stephanie asked with an amused look on her face. This was going to be good. She couldn't wait to hear the answer to that one.

"Help you from yourself," Chris said quietly walking in front of her. "I'm trying to save you from yourself."

"Oh get real, I don't need saving from myself," Stephanie said with another irritated look on her face. Who in the hell did he think he was?

"Oh yes you do," Chris said reaching out and pushing her hair behind her ear. "You used to be such a caring and warm person. We used to hang out backstage telling jokes and having a good time. Everything changed once you became involved with _him_."

Stephanie's eyes widened and her heart pounded. She knew that he was telling the truth yet she didn't like hearing it. Dating Hunter had been a huge mistake and she knew that now. She had lost quite a bit of her innocence during that time and it showed. The hardness that he taught her had overtaken her to the point that she didn't know if she could ever be the person she really wanted to be.

She turned around and closed her eyes. She knew he was right. She had changed quite a bit of the last few years. She never really meant to hurt anybody but Hunter had hurt her. He left her without warning and while she never really knew why he did it, it still made her feel as though she had failed. She was a McMahon and failure was not in the McMahon vocabulary.

Chris walked behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He bent down slightly to where he was talking quietly in her ear. "You know, you are a beautiful and intelligent woman that doesn't deserve to be alone. You deserve somebody to treat you the way a woman should be treated. You deserve to be happy. Don't deny yourself that over that big nosed son of a bitch. He's not worth all of this."

Stephanie turned around with tears falling down her face. He had hit so many nerves in the last few minutes that she couldn't stop herself from crying. "I did _everything _that I could to be what _he_ wanted and it still wasn't enough."

Chris pulled her into his arms and held her while she cried. He rubbed her hair and spoke calmly to her. "You shouldn't have to change for anybody. He should have loved you for who you are instead of changing you into something you are not."

Stephanie listened as the words finally sunk into her brain. She had never really thought of it that way. She had always thought that something was wrong with her. It never occurred to her that something was wrong with Hunter.

Chris noticed her not crying but didn't want to let her go. The minute his arms went around her he felt as though he would do anything for her. While it frightened him some, he knew that he had to do this, not for himself, but for her.

Stephanie pulled back and looked into his eyes. Emotions that she couldn't describe where shining back at her drawing her to him. Before she could think, she leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Chris said with a small smile. He lowered his mouth to hers fully expecting her to pull away. His heart skipped a beat when she didn't.

Stephanie felt his lips on hers and slightly opened her mouth. Chris immediately took advantage by sweeping his tongue in there moaning slightly at the feel of her tongue rubbing against his. Stephanie felt as though she was floating on air without a care in the world while Chris felt as though he had finally come home.

Slowly but surely, they pulled apart and looked at each other. The amazement and surprise were shining brightly in their eyes but they were still in each other's arms. "Do you really want to help me find myself again?"

"Yes ma'am, I sure do," Chris said quietly before kissing her softly on the nose. "As long as I get to kiss you again, I'll do anything you want me to."

Stephanie blushed slightly and grinned at him. "I think that we will be doing a lot more kissing."

"I was hoping you would say that. I've got one question though, what happens when we get out of here?" Chris asked.

The door suddenly opened and they turned to see her father standing there. He grinned noting their arms around each other. He knew that Chris had always been attracted to Stephanie and was happy that he finally did something about it. "I was starting to get worried about you," he said looking at his daughter.

She looked at Chris and then back at her father. "Well, we actually got locked in because Blondie here didn't know about the door lock."

"Sorry sir," Chris said with a smile on his face. "I know that now and it won't happen again."

"For some reason, I don't believe you," Vince said with a smile. "But you know what, that's okay. My daughter has not smiled a real smile in over a year and she's got one on her face right now so everything is just fine as far as I am concerned."

Stephanie pulled herself out of Chris's arms and ran over to her dad. He engulfed her in his arms while smiling and nodding his head at Chris. He kissed her on the forehead and watched as she walked back to Chris's side. When she reached down and grabbed Chris's hand in hers, Vince decided it was time to go. "Okay, the door is unlocked now so you can come out whenever you want. Don't take too long, we've got guests." With a wink, he slowly shut the door.

"Well, what do you say Princess, wanna party?" Chris said kissing her on the tip of her nose.

"Yeah but not right now, we've got better things to do," Stephanie said pulling his head down to hers to capture his lips one more time. She couldn't help the feeling of contentment and happiness that was running thru her body. Maybe now she could finally be the woman that she always knew she could be. Maybe now things would be better.

1 Year Later

The annual McMahon pool party was in full swing. While everybody thought this year was just going to be the same old thing, there was several in attendance, that knew this year was going to be special. Vince held up his glass and tapped on it.

"Could I have your attention please?" Vince asked loudly noting that his employees started surrounding the pool. "I know we've done this pool party for years now but this year something special is about to happen."

Vince noted the puzzled faces and smiled. "No, we're not having any games or anything like that. Actually, I believe this party will be known for years to come. Now, that being said, I would like to ask my daughter to come up here."

Stephanie looked at Chris with a surprised look on her face. She had no idea what was up and looked at Chris with questioning eyes. With a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders, he gently pushed her towards her father. He knew exactly what was getting ready to happen and he couldn't wait. He waited until she was half way there before quietly making his way around the crowd and disappearing from sight.

"What's going on daddy?" Stephanie asked when she got up there. She kissed him on the cheek and pulled back struggling to figure out the emotion in his eyes. Something was up and she didn't have a clue to what it was.

"You know what, I think I'll let someone else take it from here," Vince said with a wink. He patted her hand before walking off to stand beside of her mother. He put his arm around Linda's shoulder and felt her arm go around his waist. They had waited a long time for this moment and they were going to cherish it forever.

"Okay, I'm not real sure why I'm here right now," Stephanie said with a slight blush on her face. She noted the extreme happiness on her parent's faces and the confusion on everybody's faces. She started to walk back towards everybody when a familiar voice stopped her.

"It's okay Princess, I know why you are here," Chris said walking out from behind the bushes. He was so nervous. He had been planning this for weeks and now that the time had come, the nervous jitters threatened to over come him. Then he looked into her eyes and they magically disappeared. "Actually, _I'm _the reason you're up here right now."

"Oh really, and why is that?" Stephanie asked with an amused look on her face. She couldn't imagine what on he was doing but knew it would be good. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She had never loved anybody the way she loved Chris and never would. She knew it was a once in a lifetime love.

Chris slowly dropped down to one knee and Stephanie gasped out loud. With a small smile, he produced a ring box from behind his back. He opened the box and held it up for her to see. "Stephanie Marie McMahon, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Stephanie's eyes filled with tears and she felt as though her heart was stuck in her throat. They had talked about marriage but only a little here and there. She smiled and nodded her head yes afraid that if she spoke, she would ruin the moment.

"Sweetheart, I want to hear you say yes," Chris said with an amused look on his face.

"Yes, I'll marry you," Stephanie said in a loud voice. She held out her hand and watched as he placed the two-carat solitaire diamond on her finger. Chris jumped up and wrapped his arms around her before picking her up and spinning her around while the entire company clapped and whistled.

Vince and Linda both had tears on their eyes and their arms wrapped around each other. Today was the day that they witnessed all of their daughter's dreams coming true. She had finally found the man who would love her the way she was supposed to be loved.

Chris put her down on her feet and looked into his bride-to-be eyes. "I'll spend the rest of my life making you happy. I promise."

"That's one promise that I'm going to hold you to Blondie," Stephanie said with a smile.


End file.
